Ignite
by Combustspontaneously
Summary: Percy owns a flat in Brooklyn and works in a cluttered music shop tucked beside a tax office and a restaurant. Annabeth lives in Manhattan and set to be the youngest manager in the history of her architecture firm. They need each other more than they realize. [Punk!Percy and Girly!Annabeth mortal AU] {Cover art by Viria and Castellanpride}
1. Chapter 1

The sound that crackled through the speakers was low-quality at best and downright crappy at its worst. Percy hardly seemed to mind though, humming along underneath his breath as his fingers flickered through a bin of donated CD cases with cracked and stained covers. In the dim light of the overhead light, he squinted at a particularly scarred album before tossing it into the overflowing wastebin at his feet. It was nearly noon and outside people strode past the little music shop to their lunch breaks, bundled into heavy black coats and infinity scarves, eyes too focused on the ground in front of them to notice the little establishment Percy had tucked himself into.

He glanced up as a gangly boy with droopy, close-set eyes and shaggy hair shuffled up to his counter. He moved like the walking dead, and the look in his eyes often had the same effect. "Hey, Clovis, you ready?"

Clovis nodded, his sandy colored hair flopping into his eyes. He clattered an old record on Percy's counter along with a twenty before shoving his hands into his oversized sweater's pockets.

"Nice choice," he commented, handing him his change. Clovis bobbed his head in another nod before shuffling out the door. Percy drummed his fingers on the sticker covered table and turned up the music. He glanced off into the aisles and spotted Clovis' signature gray beanie on the floor near the lesser visited classical section. "Hey, Clovis, you forgot – ." But he had already gone. Percy sighed into the empty shop and went back to organizing the bin, nimble fingers organizing them into little piles, messing them up, and reorganizing them by name then genre then by levels of crappiness.

Accountants were probably having more fun at work right now.

Percy ruffled his fingers through his hair in frustration, shoving the cracked plastic bin onto the floor. His fingers skidded through the rough stubble of his undercut. He was wondering if the boss would mind him skipping out on lunch break early when the bell on the door jingled.

"It's by the classical." Percy said, without bothering to look up.

"Come again?" Percy started and glanced up. It wasn't Clovis who had returned for his hat but a blonde woman whose expression was a mixture of confused and offended. She was a little too nicely dressed to be from this part of the city. Her curly blonde hair was pinned up in some kind of fancy up-do he imagined was very popular in the country clubs of South Carolina this time of the year, and… wow. Now _that _wasn't what he normally expected to find in his crappy little music shack.

"Oh – hey! Sorry, I thought you were…" he stumbled through his words, feeling his cheeks warming up. She raised her eyebrows, the corners of her lips curving slightly as if she were surpressing laughter. "Nevermind." He shook his head, trying to clear it. "Can I help you with something?" He stepped out from behind the cashier's counter, regretting it slightly when her eyes flickered over his body. He couldn't tell if he was being checked out or judged. The part of him that couldn't help but notice how cute she was hoped it was the former. By 'part' he probably meant all of him. He glanced down to see what he had thrown on that day. The old pair of ripped black jeans and a loose white button up he'd picked up off his bedroom floor made him cringe. Her eyes lingered for a bare extra second on the ink peeking out from his rolled up sleeves before glancing back around the shop. Her appraising gaze reminded him slightly of rich, snobby Nancy Beaumont, the debate team captain at his old high school, whose face was in constant levels of disgust whenever Percy and his friends were around. This girl's face was sweeter and lacked the distaste of old Nancy, though she still had that refined look about her.

"I'm looking for a gift for a friend," she said. She leaned against Percy's desk, tracing a Flaming Lips sticker with a manicured finger, clutching her olive green gloves in her other hand. Percy gulped, ruffling his hair with his free hand. Most of the light came from the wall-length windows of the building's façade, and what light did come through illuminated the stacks and narrow aisles of vintage records and guitar strings in a hazy glow.

"Great," Percy said, clearing his throat and clapping his hands together. "Anything in particular?"

The girl's eyes snapped back to Percy's. She smiled, and turned towards him, the light catching the stray curls falling around her face. Percy's mouth went oddly dry. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a worn list and handing it to him. "These are the bands she likes, I'm not quite sure what to get her…" she glanced back up at Percy, biting her lip worriedly. "I don't suppose you could help me out?"

_God, could she get any cuter?_

There was a list of six bands Percy himself was rather familiar with written in sharp black ink in neat, flowing penmanship. It didn't surprise him that blondie was at a loss. She seemed a bit more Ingrid Michaelson than Fall Out Boy. "I know just the thing." He glanced up and grinned at the girl, who blinked back, looking somewhat surprised. "Follow me," he beckoned, leading her through a winding path through the shelves, fingers trailing along fading spines before pulling out the one he was looking for. " I'm Percy, by the way. You?" he turned to look at the girl and felt his heart jump in his chest when he realized she was much closer than he thought. Her face was less than a foot away. In the drafty spaces of the back room, he could feel her warmth seeping into the dusty air. She was taller than he thought, the top of her hair knot level with his nose. She smelled sweet.

She plucked the record out from his hands, studying it. "Annabeth," she answered at last, turning to walk back towards the front, glancing behind her as if to make sure he was following.

He stared after her for a second before quickly following at her heels. She was waiting at the counter, scrawling something on the worn list she had given to Percy.

Getting the impression that she was in a hurry, Percy quickly wrapped up the gift and handed it to her. "Annabeth!" he called after her. She paused, already half-out of the shop, and glanced up from her phone. "You forgot something," he waved the white list at her.

"You have a good day, Percy." A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, and in the next second she was gone.

_Annabeth._ He fiddled with the worn white list still in his hand. There was a new addition at the bottom. _Huh. _

_(xxx)-xxx-xxxx  
Annabeth Chase.  
Call me._

_-x-_

_A/N: Hello all my new and beloved readers! Yes, I'm back with my favorite fictional couple in another AU. I couldn't help it, Punk!Percy is my favorite thing ever. The icon is drawn by the fab viria and edited by castellanpride. As always, thanks to my beta, best friend, and fellow percabeth lover, Maddie, or bookish-type-7. She might actually be writing a couple scenes of this fic from Annabeth's point of view if we're lucky._

_I'm super excited for this fic and will hopefully be updating really soon, so don't forget to follow both/either the story or my tumblr, frankzhangly to get notices on updates!(:_

_Love,_

_Anna x._

_Give it a review to make my day! ^-^_


	2. Chapter 2

"Little dude, you are seriously over-thinking this."

Percy sighed, his thumb rubbing circles over the crumpled paper in his hands. He still hadn't called her. Though he had spent the last two days agonizing himself over it.

"Seriously, just call her," Rachel chimed in over the thin buzz of the tattoo machine. Her head was bent over the meaty arm of some biker looking dude who apparently hearted Venitia forever (or at least enough to get her name and face permanently inked into his bicep), and her hair was pulled back by a black bandana that matched the color of the dude's walrus mustache. From the embroidering on his denim and leather vest, Percy would guess his name was The Iron Fist. Whether or not that was his Christian name was debateable (Brooklyn type people are… unique). Either way, Percy had apparently entrusted him with his love life. "Hold still, Fist-o."

"It tickles," Fist huffed, shifting in the leather seat.

"You guys weren't there. She was…" he gesticulated wildly, trying to find the words to express it. "She was just… _girly _and like, _flowery, _you know? How do I date a girl like that?"

"Well you thought she was cute, right?" Rachel asked.

Percy sighed again, stuffing the note back into his pocket. Over the past two days it had worn into the texture of a Kleenex. "Well yeah, but I just don't know what to think," he said for the umpteenth time. He was starting to sound like the broken records people kept trying to sell him at the music shop. He was supposed to be there now, but it was a slow day and he was taking a late lunch break to walk down the block to Rachel's tattoo parlor. It was only a little larger than Percy's music store, and slightly classier. Drawings, mostly Rachel's, covered the walls. Percy told her time and time again that she deserved to be working in some high end place in Hong Kong or something, but Rachel always replied that she needed to earn her place first. Whatever that meant.

"Alright, Fist, I'm done," Rachel said, putting aside the machine and examing her work. It was gorgeous work for a somewhat simple design, but that was to be expected. Percy trusted no one but her to do his own tattoos after all.

The Iron Fist grunted his thanks and heaved himself upwards and out fo the chair. A hairy hand clapped down on Percy's shoulder and almost sent him buckling towards the floor. "You make sure you call her, kid. 'Tis better to have love and lost than to never have loved at all." With a pointed look under bushy eyebrows, The Iron Fist lumbered off towards the front of the shop.

"Tennyson," Rachel said, surprise coloring her tone. "Who would've thought?"

"Great," Percy groaned. "I'm so pathetic a dude named _The Iron Fist _has to quote love poems for me."

"Hey," Rachel protested. "Say what you will, but _The Iron Fist _is a true romantic at heart. Though you really are kinda pathetic."

"Gee, _thanks, _Rach_,_" he scowled, picking at the ink underneath his finger nails from when he was doodling over his counter.

Rachel sighed and came to stand in front of him, hands on her hips a la Wonder Woman. "Either call her or don't," she ordered. "And go back to work. Your shitty mood and lack of balls is bringing down my chi."

-x-

_Pick up – no, don't – wait, no, please do…_

"Hello, you've reached Annabeth Chase. I am not available at the moment so leave a message."

"Uh, hey, Annabeth! It's me – Percy? From the music store? Well, uh, you said to call so… yeah. Call me back whenever you can… or don't. You know, whatever's cool. Uh, so bye - ."

The phone clicked.

"Percy?" Annabeth interrupted him, sounded slightly out of breath like she'd just run up the stairs.

"Um, hi, yeah… that's me." Percy cringed at how _high school freshman _he sounded. Like he really, really wanted a date to the homecoming dance. Ugh. He ruffled his hair again, scowling.

"Oh, um, hey. Sorry for not picking up right away, I just got out the shower -" His eyebrows shot up. Okay, like he needed the imagery. Thanks. "I don't suppose you're busy tonight?"

"I – t-tonight?" he stammered. Well, that was easier than expected. "No, nope shouldn't be busy."

"Great!" she said.

The line was quiet for a few seconds before Percy realized she was probably waiting for him to ask her out properly.

"So, do you wanna go out? Like to a movie, or whatever?" He bit his lip in anxiety before she answered.

"I'd love to." She sounded genuinely happy about his suggestion, as if she didn't constantly have boys knocking down her (probably also adorable) door. "Here, why don't I text you my address on my cell? You can come pick me up at, say, eight thirty?"

"Sweet," Percy breathed, before clearing his throat. "I mean, yeah I guess that'd be okay."

Annabeth paused, and when she talked again she sounded like she was smiling. "Sweet," she said, and hung up.

Percy sagged against his doorframe and sighed.

"Hey, Romeo, you're blocking the kitchen door," Grover said through a mouthful of cereal. He squeezed past and clattered his bowl in their shared sink, before boosting himself onto the counter. He waggled his eyebrows. "So what'd she say?"

"We're going out in," he checked his phone. "Two hours."

Grover raised his eyebrows and grinned. "Nice, man!" he hesitated. "what're you going to wear?" The grin on Percy's face melted quickly, replaced by a look one could only be described as panic. "… I'll go call Rachel."

-x-

"Do you own anything that's not black?" Rachel cried exasperatedly half an hour later, as clothes were strewn across Percy's floor.

"Uhh…" Percy toed at a gray t-shirt. "Well, I have some gray." Rachel groaned and he rushed to add, "And some blue!"

Rachel wrinkled her nose. "It's a good thing she apparently has a thing for snot-nosed punks then."

"Hey, I don't have allergies," Percy protested. Grover and Rachel shared sympathetic noises with each other.

He needed new friends.

-x-

An hour and a half later, Percy was knocking on the red door of a Manhattan apartment dressed in a light blue Henley and black skinny jeans (really the only type of bottoms he owned). It was weirdly quiet here. The next door neighbor was eying him suspiciously. Percy scowled, sticking out his tongue in what his ninth grade English teacher would've called an excessively juvenile fashion. The balding old man nearly jumped and scurried back into his house. Percy heard the audible clicking of the door's bolt locking in place. Percy's scowl deepened, and he stuck his hands in his pockets, kicking at the pebbles in the little garden she had out front. He _knew _this was going to be a terrible idea.

A second later, the door swung open. The girl who opened was distinctly _not _Annabeth. She looked like the type of girl who frequented Percy's part of town. She glanced over him, her scowl deepening.

"Uh, hey, I'm here for -"

"Annabeth!" the dark haired girl hollered over her shoulder. There was an unintelligible response from somewhere in the house. "Break her heart and I'll break your legs."

The door slammed in his face. Percy blinked at the closed door and a second a later it opened, and Annabeth scurried out. She darted forward, kissing him on both cheeks like they did in the black and white subtitled movies Rachel liked. She bounced back and smiled at him. She was just as well-dressed as she had been the day she'd come by the music shop, and this time was wearing a sweater that was brown-ish color he didn't know the word for (though Rachel probably would) with a red skirt and boots.

"Uh, you look great." The words slipped out of his mouth before he could catch himself and he felt a grin involuntarily slip onto his face.

Instead of laughing at him like his friends would've, her smile just widened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, you know – whatever."

Annabeth just shook her head and grinned. "Well, thank you. Shall we go?"

That was the first time Percy had heard anyone say 'shall' without any trace of irony.

This was going to be a weird first date.

_-x-_

_A/N: Hello!(:_

_I hope you liked my update. The next one will hopefully be up soon! Thanks as always to my darling, Maddie._

_Don't forget to follow/favorite/review if you liked it!3_

_Anna x._


	3. Chapter 3

It was dark out already, and chillingly frigid. Percy shivered slightly but didn't complain. The only sound in the quiet neighborhood was the slap of his Converses against the concrete. They passed underneath a street lamp, the fancy iron wrought kind that Percy never saw in his neighborhood, and Annabeth slowed to a stop.

It took a few steps for Percy to realize she was no longer beside him. "So where do you want to go?" Annabeth asked. "'To the movies or whatever' wasn't very specific," she teased.

Percy blushed, digging his hands into his pockets. "Whatever. You can choose, I don't care."

Annabeth tilted her head to the side and smiled at him, her curls falling to the side. "Do you like bowling?"

Percy had never even stepped foot in a bowling alley. "I love it!"

She grinned, and grabbed Percy's hand, bouncing ahead of him. "Then I know just the place."

-x-

To be honest, Percy expected some high end bowling alley, complete with butlers and diamond studded bowling balls – and hey, Annabeth was pretty posh, it wasn't that far off of an assumption. Instead Annabeth led him down through a couple of subway shops and a labyrinth of New York alleys. She pulled to a stop in the middle of the street not too far from where Percy himself lived.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, eyebrows knitting together as his eyes scanned the empty street.

Annabeth just smiled slyly. "Nothing," she said softly. "C'mere." And she took his hand again and led him down a pair of stairs Percy hadn't noticed before. It was plain and black and Percy expected to come to someone's front door, but instead it opened up into, believe it or not, a bowling alley. Bright red and violet neon signs flickered up at them from around the expansive space. Percy's sneakers squeaked against the black and white checkered linoleum. Percy glanced around, suddenly realizing that Annabeth had wandered off somewhere. He found her at the admissions counter, worked by college-aged blond twins wearing matching beanies.

"How's it going, Bethie?" The one on the right was asking as Percy approached the counter. Annabeth's mouth was twisted up in a scowl.

"Call me Bethie one more time, Travis, I dare you -"

"And who's this?" the other twin, not Travis, said in the same tone a twelve year old boy would use. He waggled his eyebrows.

It was weird.

"This is Percy," Annabeth said curtly. "And he is so not any of your business. Percy this is Travis and Connor. They were in my bio class at NYU last year."

"Annabeth has a _boyfriend_," they sang dancing around in a little circle behind their counter. Percy kind of wanted to strangle them. Like, a lot. By the way Annabeth was seething, it was obvious the feeling was the same on her part.

"We're going to go now," she announced loudly over them, dragging Percy over to lane three. "I'm really sorry about that," she apologized, tucking a stray curl of hair behind her ears. She was cute when she was flustered. Her cheeks were flushed and her delicate hands fiddled with the hem of her sweater.

He shrugged and tousled his hair, hoping more for 'cool' than 'embarrassed' (and he definitely wasn't cool… at least not according to his douchebag friends cough_Rachel_coug_h_) and directed his eyes to the racks of bowling balls. Annabeth followed his lead and went forward to get the sixteen pound ball, a sparkling gold one. She held it loosely under the crook of her arm like it was nothing. Damn, she was small, but...

Percy automatically reached out and grabbed the one beside hers, a shiny blue one that caught his eye. It was a decent weight… he just had no idea what to do with it. He stood for a moment staring at it in his hands wondering if he should attempt the careless way Annabeth cradled it, when Annabeth muffled her giggle in the sleeve of her sweater.

He glanced up and saw her watching him with an amused smirk. "You have no idea how to bowl, do you?" she said, more of a statement than a question.

"Err…"

She laughed. "Come on, I'll teach you." She gestured to the twins behind her and the lane lit up, bright white lights flickering on along the sides. The pins reset, and in a few graceful steps and a fluid swing, Annabeth's golden ball shot down the lane and sent the pins flying.

The scoreboard overhead showed a little dorky animation before the giant letters, STRIKE!, spun around and faded back to the scores.

She smirked and turned back to him. "Now your turn."

He gulped.

"Come on, it's easy," she coaxed. She all but pushed him to the spot, her soft hands firmly adjusting little things in his stance and how he held his arm. He felt like a marionette puppet, moving willingly with her. His heart raced as the coolness of her hands seeped through his shirt. When she'd deemed his posture correct, she removed her fingers from him and he'd suddenly wished they were back on his waist. For reassurance. And posture. Balance. You know. Science stuff.

"Now do what I did," she said softly. He frowned and, well, attempted.

To be honest, it was more of a couple of a timid steps and the clumsy throwing of the ball than an actual imitation of Annabeth's previous movements. It spun awkwardly down the aisle, then swerved into the gutter at the last second, but not before catching one of the pins offguard and knocking it over after a halfhearted wobble.

Annabeth suppressed her laughter as her eyes twinkled. "Oh, hon - ,"

Percy let out a cheer. "I got one!" He did a little jig on the spot and spun around.

Annabeth really laughed then and caught him as he wobbled off balance. Her fingers tangled in his shirt, and he stumbled into her arms, catching himself around her waist.

"Oh," he said dumbly. The racing of his heart roared in his ears.

He shivered as her fingers slid up his neck, leaving goosebumps in their wake and threading themselves in his hair. "Hi," she whispered back, voice breathy, the tip of her nose just barely touching his.

He was so caught up in the shine of her gray eyes and the constellation of freckles smattered on the bridge of her nose he didn't hear the crackle of the PA system coming on, and almost too distracted by the sweetness of her lips pressing against his to hear the twins' obnoxioius nursery rhyme chanting.

"_Annabeth and Percy kissing in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,"_

She pulled away from him with a sigh. "Do you want to get out of here?"

He sighed a breathless yes, and Annabeth began pulling him by the hand towards the exit. Behind him, the twins chanted on.

-x-

At the door of her apartment, a small brick place a mile high and an iron door, she turned back to face him, her eyes roaming his face like she was trying not to forget it. They had walked the streets of the city for hours (the well-lit streets anyway), talking and stealing kisses at street corners, but it was late, and even the safest streets felt a little sketchy after 11.

"Well," she sighed, a small smile on her lips. "I hope you had fun tonight."

Her free hand rested on Percy's chest. She was on the step above him, and their faces were almost even. Her eyes studied Percy's for a second, before leaning forward and pressing her lips against Percy's again. Her lips were sweet and he could almost, just barely, taste a bit of himself on her. He sighed against her, pressing her body against his. "Good night, Percy," she whispered, the ghost of her breath warm against his lips.

He tried not to complain, pecking her softly before she smiled and disappeared behind her door.

"Good night."

_a/n: seriously, school sucks. a lot. on the otherhand, THANKSGIVING BREAK AYOOOO._

_I hope you are all doing fantastically and havent failed any chemistry quizzes lately (who, me? nahh... *nervous laughing*_

_Please leave a review because it would make me very happy and thankful (lul see what i did there. no? okay.)_

_but my lameness (and percy's) aside, please do leave a review because it encourages me to write and others to check out my work which makes me really happy!_

_much love,_

_Anna x._


	4. Chapter 4

Percy drummed his fingers on the tabletop of his music store counter, an erratic beat of impatience. It was Friday evening and he'd been cooped up in the tiny store for hours. Normally he could immerse himself into the music, find solace in between the lines of sheet music, but not tonight. Not when he had only a couple hours before he could see Annabeth again.

-x-

When he got home the night after their first date a few days ago, a message had been waiting for him on the voicemail machine. As he'd walked away from her apartment, glancing back every few seconds as if still in awe of what had just happened and who it had happened with, his body felt as though he could've melted right into the sidewalk, waiting until she walked by again to come back alive. It felt as though his energy had only been kept up with her presence and now that she was gone again, he wanted nothing but to sleep. So it was not until the morning after that he noticed the blinking green light on the machine telling him that he had a message, seeing as he had collapsed onto the couch as soon as he had walked into the door, too tired to even walk to his bedroom.

That morning the apartment was suddenly filled with her voice, asking to see him again. When the message ended, he played it again. And again. Grover found him like that, dreamily staring off into who-knows-where, the message replaying for the third time.

"Uh, bro?" his friend asked timidly, scratching at the sliver of exposed tummy right below his slightly too-small Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt. From the wayward direction of his curls, it was evident he had just woken up. Then again, some part of Percy shrugged, he kind of always looked a little rumpled. It was a hippie thing, he guessed. "You okay?"

"No," Percy groaned petulantly, reaching over to turn off the recording. It wasn't fair how cute her voice was when she was being all shy.

Grover sighed and sat at the end of the couch where Percy was still laying, in the same rumpled clothes from the previous night. "And what's wrong this time?" he asked, though he was quite certain he knew.

"It's Annabeth," Percy stuffed his face into the couch cushion.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing!" Percy cried. "That's the problem. She's perfect. She's smart, and funny, and nice, and girly, and she looks like an angel." Percy gestured wildly in a large pinwheel kind of motion. "I don't know how to date a girl like that!"

"But you've dated before," Grover pointed out.

Percy glowered. He didn't really like to be reminded. "Yeah, _twice. _And look how well those turned out."

"Well, you and Rachel are still friends," he said unhelpfully. "And Reyna…" he trailed off, flinching at the suddenly very murderous look on Percy's face. "Doesn't totally hate you…" he finished weakly. "I'm going to go start breakfast."

"Yeah, good idea," Percy snapped, glaring at his friend as he inched towards the kitchen nervously.

Really the best thing about living with Grover was the fact that he worked as a chef for one of the fanciest gourmet organic food places in the city, even if he knew all about Percy's embarrassing and painful (both emotionally and physically) past relationships. Yeah, definitely never going to date an FBI trainee ever again. Or break up with one while in the vicinity of a lot of sharp, throwable things.

Rachel and Percy's break up had been a lot less painful – physically. The pair had loved each other of course, but as a couple they just didn't work out. Whereas with Reyna, Percy never really knew where he stood. She was never open with her feelings, and it wasn't until they had broken up that Percy realized she had loved him afterall – even if he wasn't sure he'd ever felt that way.

But at least with the both of them he knew why they liked him.

Why was she interested in a all-black-wearing punk with a pay that was only slightly above minimum wage?

Annabeth was the kind of girl who owned more skirts than she did jeans, and knew the difference between cream and eggshell. She probably had some kind of fancy degree from an ivy league college and could remember which one was a compass and which one was a protracter.

He made a mental note to google it.

Grover returned with two heaping plates of… stuff.

Percy made it a point never to look at, smell, or ask questions about whatever vegan meal Grover had prepared, because chances were Percy was happier off not knowing. He scarfed down a hearty corner of it before deciding to forgive Grover. "Any advice, o sage master?"

"Think about it this way. Does Annabeth ever say or do anything that suggests she thinks she's better than you or wishes you were more like a yuppie?"

"No," Percy said automatically and he knew he was speaking the truth.

"Who first expressed interest?"

"Well, I asked her out first, but she gave me her number at the music store."

"So is it safe to say she likes you the way you are?"

Percy blinked at his friend. "Woah. Juniper is totally rubbing off her love guru stuff on you, man."

Grover shrugged and went back to inhaling his breakfast. Juniper, his girlfriend, ran a matchmaker company for 'unconventional' types when she and Grover weren't too busy picketing real estate companies and shopping for locally grown organic foods.

"Speaking of, could you like, remember the whole sock on the door knob thing the next time she comes over? 'Cause it's getting seriously awkward, man."

Grover blushed from his neck to his ears and let out a spluttering cough. "I – I don't know what you're talking about…"

Before he could try to feebly defend himself, the phone rang and Percy lunged for it, way too ready to be done with this conversation.

"Oh," he sighed. "It's for you."

He handed the phone over and Grover all but snatched it out of his hands and ran out of the room, blabbering about plans he had made for his and Juniper's twenty-seventh monthiversary.

Ugh. Couples.

He let out a sigh and lay back down on the cusions.

Wait – what was he even doing?

Percy Jackson was not a heart broken teenage girl on the verge of sanitary collapse – what was he doing spending all this time worrying about a relationship that might not make it past the second date? Or over a girl he hardly knew just because she wore different clothes than him?

He channeled his inner Rachel and slapped himself across the face and told himself to grow a pair. Which was weird. (He's not doing that ever again).

Then he picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Annabeth? It's Percy."

"Percy, hey! It's good to hear your voice, did you get my message - ?"

"I did. Listen, what time do you get off of work?"

"Um, six? Why?"

"Come to the music store after work on Friday. And bring a pair of boots."

He could hear the smile in her voice and he could almost imagine her face, lit up and excited. "Percy? What's this about? Why do you sound so urgent?"

"Just trust me," he promised her. "It'll be fun."

She laughed. "Oh, I have no doubt."

-x-

And then it was Friday, and Percy was truly about to explode.

A few stray teenagers skulked around in the aisles as the nearby high schools let out. One of them, Leo, Percy remembered, was jamming out in the rock aisle while the other one, a blond jockish-type, just lingered around him and picked up all the albums he accidently knocked over. Bored out of his mind waiting, Percy skirted around his corner and leaned against the shelf nearest them, raising an eyebrow at Leo's flailing limbs.

The blond one, not Leo, noticed his sudden appearance and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing you're not much into music?" Percy asked. Normally when people came in they gravitated towards one section or another, not just stand by waiting for a friend.

"No," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just waiting for Leo."

Percy frowned. "So you don't like _any _music?"

"Well, it's not so much that I don't like it, I just haven't listened to much." He hesitated. "My foster mom was really strict against anything she didn't think was necessary or helpful towards my development."

Ouch.

For the next few hours he, Leo, and the kid (Jason) played all sorts of music trying to find the genre Jason liked best. It turned out he was a classic and indie rock kind of guy, and Percy was so busy rocking out with the teenagers in the backroom, he didn't even hear the bell ringing that announced the arrival of a particular blonde girl. Nor her footsteps. There had been air-guitaring involved.

A flash of gold caught his eye and he spun around, cheeks flushed. Annabeth was leaning against a bookcase full of CDs, smirking at the trio who stared awkwardly at the gorgeous girl who had just caught them, for lack of a word, geeking out over music.

"Uh, hi," Percy choked out, striding over to the music player and punching random buttons until it shut down with a groan.

Even Leo, who (in the spirit of teenage hormones) flirted with every girl he met in the shop, was at a lack of witty remarks.

Annabeth looked surprisingly relaxed compared to her normal dressed up attire, in a pair of very worn blue jeans and a burgundy cardigan over a white t-shirt. The boots she promised to bring were slung over her shoulder, tied together by the shoelaces.

"Hey, Percy," she chirped, half-skipping down the steps towards him. "Hello, teenage ruffians."

There was a lilting, good-naturedly mocking tone in her voice as the nodded her head to the two gaping boys.

"Okay, well, it's closing time boys," Percy said loudly, half-ushering half-pushing them back towards the front of the shop.

"I… not… ruffian…" Leo mumbled, craning his neck around to keep looking at Annabeth, tripping over his own feet every couple of steps.

"Your protégés, I assume?" Annabeth smirked when Percy returned, having successfully gotten them out of the shop and Jason had paid for the five CDs he decided he liked best.

"Something like that," Percy shrugged, ruffling his hair bashfully. "Anyways, are you ready to go?"

She laughed and shook her head. "You haven't even told me where we're going! You could be kidnapping me for all I know."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound like you're scared," he pointed out, reaching out to take her hand and leading her out the back.

"Well, I didn't say I would particularly mind if you did – so long as you had me back in time for work on Monday."

Percy felt himself flush at the words, thankful for the chilly air he could blame it on. Oh, what they could do in a weekend. "Well, I can't make any promises," he teased. "But you should probably put your boots on now."

She eyed him suspiciously, but kicked off her heels regardless and put on a thick pair of woolen socks and the boots she had brought. They were worn, scuffed at the toes and quite frankly, kind of hideous.

"Don't tell me you own those," Percy said, shocked she owned anything that cost less than a month of Percy's pay.

"Ha ha," Annabeth mocked, sticking her tongue out at him. "Don't be surprised, I'm not all ribbons and lace, you know." She hesitated. "But yeah, these totally aren't mine. Percy?" He had gone around the corner, re-emerging with his motorcycle. "Oh God, Percy I can't believe you own one."

"Impulse buy. Adds to the image. Also it takes way less gas so my eco-nut roommate doesn't mind."

She raised her eyebrow.

Percy grinned, tossing her a helmet. "C'mon, let's go."

She caught it with a squeak of surprise, half-stumbling backwards. "On – on the bike? Percy, I don't think so, it's not really very safe…" she spluttered, shaking her head, her eyes wide.

Percy walked towards her until her chest was nearly touching his. He reached up with a steady hand and brushed a strand on blonde hair out of her eyes, slowly wrapping his free arm around her waist. His hand slid against warm exposed skin, and she shuddered, letting herself fall into him. He lowered his head, sliding the tip of his nose against the curve of her jaw, and pecking a kiss on the soft skin of her throat. He felt her pulse jump, and she gasped slightly, fingers entwining into his shirt. "Scared?" he smirked in a low voice.

Her eyes flashed open, defiance hardening the soft molten silver of her irises. "Definitely not," she retorted, flipping her hair back over her shoulder and letting go of him. His smirk grew as she tucked her gold hair into the helmet, walking over to the bike and tossing him his. He caught the hard pass, chuckling quietly as she huffed.

"Well?" she demanded, a small smile growing on her lips. "Coming?"

-x-

_A/N: Oh man, this is probably my favorite chapter yet. Thanks so much as always to the best editor in the world, Maddie! Man oh, man, do I love writing sexy!punk!percy. Writing Percy all stumbling and trying to be cool is tons of fun, but writing him actually being cool is a whole other ballpark._

_I hope youre all doing fantastically well and that you enjoyed this chapter!_

_If you did like this chapter please leave a review and let me know! If you hated this chapter leave a review and let me know!_

_Honestly all reviews make me happy!_

_Don't forget to check out my tumblr(s) at frankzhangly (fandom) and sedruina (photography)_


	5. Chapter 5

Percy had learned to ride a motorcycle when he was fifteen (albeit while both Grover and his mother watched and cringed behind the gaps of their fingers and Rachel cheered rather loudly from the sidelines), so he was pretty comfortable riding the thing. He hadn't, however, ever counted on there being an adorable little blonde minx riding right behind him getting rather… erm, handsy.

"Annabeth!" he yelped, as cold fingers slid under his t-shirt and ran along the skin above his waistline, occasionally dipping underneath. The motorcycle jerked slightly as Percy tried very hard not to focus on the, ahem, other thing between his legs.

"Yes?" she hollered back. He could practically hear the smirk in her voice.

He groaned and pulled over. They had been riding for only twenty minutes and weren't even out of the city yet. He turned to glare at his date, who just blinked back innocently, pink lips turned up slightly at the corners. Her cheeks were a soft pink from the wind, though her makeup hadn't even smudged.

"Why'd you stop, honey?" she asked, a mocking innocence in her tone. She batted her lashes sweetly as he glowered.

"Goddamnit Annabeth, I have to _drive _this thing, you know," he groaned exasperatedly. "I can't have you…" She cocked her head, a few spare curls falling to the side as she blinked sweetly up at him. He gulped, gesticulating wildly. "You know, touching me and stuff."

"Touching you?" she murmured sweetly, dragging her nails along Percy's chest. "I haven't the smallest idea of what you're talking about."

Percy groaned, shaking his head. "You're the worst."

She smirked, running a hand through her curls. "Oh, come on, how hard can it be? It's easier than a bike. You're just moving the handlebars around and pressing the gas." She shrugged as Percy gaped at her.

Working his jaw for a second, he made an impulsive decision. Right. Because _that's _a first.

"Percy? Percy, darling, where are you going?" Annabeth asked, frowning as Percy gently nudged her off the bike and climbed off himself.

He guestured to the bike. "Well? If it's so easy do it youself." He smirked at her as she blanched. "That's what I thought-"

But Annabeth was already climbing back onto the bike, situating herself in front of the handlebars. There was something to be said about the way she looked on it, and his heart skipped a beat as his eyes followed the curves of her calves to her thighs to her hips to her shoulders and breasts and Percy'd never been a fan of those scantily-clad women on motorcycles that always seemed to adorn mens' garages but _damn_, did Annabeth look good on a motorcycle. And _this_ was fully clothed.

She turned back and shrugged, humor and determination sparkling in her eyes. "Scared to ride with me, _princess?_"

His face broke out into a smile and he chuckled. What could he say – maybe he did know why Annabeth liked him after all.

-x-

Riding with Annabeth was exhilarating. They were well out of the city now, watching the concrete and city lights be replaced with pale stars and lush green. It was a jerky and terrifying start, jolting down the streets with Annabeth until she got the hang out of it. He was still in awe over how quickly she agreed to climb on the bike. As the night grew on and the road lights became their only source of light, the night grew colder and the wind more bitter. Percy shivered slightly, tightening his leather jacket around him and scooting forward so that his chest was firmly pressed against Annabeth's back. She seemed grateful for the warmth, and pressed back against him. He hesitated and turned his neck so that his lips were pressed against her neck. She shuddered, and Percy noted goosebumps rising along her neck.

"Pull over," he whispered in her ear and she skidded to a stop along the road.

"W-what's wrong?" she asked over the roar of the wind and the cars passing by. She was trembling from the cold. Percy slid off the motorcycle and Annabeth squeaked from surprise as Percy lifted her off it, shifting her in his arms so that he was carrying her bridal-style towards the metal railing alongside the road. "P-Percy?" she curled in tighter, burying her head in his chest.

Percy lowered himself onto the railing, adjusting the both of them so that Annabeth was just sitting on his lap. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern flooding his tone. He absentmindedly slid his fingers along her lips.

She smiled at him, cocking her head. "Of c-course I am. I'm just c-cold, that's all. Are we almost there?"

He glanced around him. "Yeah, I'd say we only have a mile or two to go."

"Until we get to your serial killer c-cabin?"

Percy laughed in surprise, and even Annabeth cracked a smile. "Yep," Annabeth reluctantly swung her legs off from his lap and pouted.

"You're really not going to tell me where we're going? How will I know where I'm going?"

Percy laughed, walking back towards the motorcycle. "How about I drive the rest of the way?"

She laughed, running to catch up with him. "That's so not fair."

He turned to grin at her and his breath was caught in his throat. The street lights were shining directly on her, and he was struck for the billionth time with the beauty of this goddamn angel that had walked into his shop. She was gold and magic and all that was good in the world. She was the sun and the stars and God, Percy couldn't breathe.

"Percy? Are you alright?" Annabeth was staring at him, frowning.

Percy choked down the sudden pain in his chest and ducked his head. "Yeah," he whispered. "Yeah." He shook his head and ruffled his hair with his fingers before swinging his leg over the motorcycle, shoving the helmet back onto his head.

There was a pause and then Annabeth climbed on after him. He waited as she tucked the helmet back on, tucking in each piece of her hair perilously slow, and just when he thought he would choke on his own sudden need to run to the end of the world, she wrapped her arms back around him and Percy slammed down on the gas, shooting off into the darkness.

He raced along the road, the wind whipping against his face. Annabeth was hanging onto him for dear life, and after a minute he began to slow until he realized that she was laughing, exhilarated at the speed and the roar of the road. He grinned, and slammed down on the pedal again and the pair roared off into the night.

Minutes later, Percy spotted the cheery yellow and green sign off the side of the road and pulled into a lot in front of an office.

Once it was clear they were stopping, Annabeth swung her legs off the bike and hopped off, wobbling around a little bit before steadying herself, taking off her helmet, and shaking her hair out. Percy followed her, smiling at the look on her face.

She was laughing again, and shaking her head. "Well, that was fun," she shrugged. "Though maybe a little illegal. And probably really dangerous." She walked towards Percy until they were almost touching. "A little bit like you, I think."

She smiled and kissed Percy before turning and looking around the area. "Is this the place?"

The parking lot was almost empty and the only other cars there were two minivans. "Yep," Percy replied, taking her hand and leading her towards the lit office building.

The door jingled as they entered and the woman behind the desk grinned. "How may I – oh, my Lord, can it be?" she came out from behind the counter and held her arms open. Percy grinned and leaned down to hug her and peck her on the cheek. "Perseus Jackson! I haven't seen you in years! Oh, look at how you've grown, and your clothes! Tsk tsk, does your mother know you're still wearing all black?"

He laughed. "Come on, Mrs. Tilda, this is Annabeth." Annabeth who had been lingering against the wall with her eyebrows raised, smiled and let herself be cuddled against the larger woman's chest.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," she said politely. The woman beamed at the both of them.

"Oh, I suppose you want the keys to your father's cabin?" she disappeared back behind the desk.

"Cabin?" Annabeth asked softly so the woman wouldn't hear. "So you _weren't_ lying about being a serial killer…"

Percy grinned and chuckled quietly. Mrs. Tilda emerged again with a pair of keys attached to a ring shaped like a seashell. "Here you are, lovely. And, uh," Mrs. Tilda leaned forward conspiratorially, pressing something else into his palm. "I'd keep this one around for a while. She's a cutie." She winked and bustled back into the backroom.

Percy glanced into his palm and gaped in horror.

The old woman had given him a box of… well. Condoms.

"Oh, my god." Annabeth squeaked, having seen them. She hid her face, looking mortified.

Percy shoved them into his pocket, flushing from his ears to his toes. He really wanted to melt into the walls right now.

"Let's just go," he said quickly, half pushing her out of the office. He threw back a horrified glance as Mrs. Tilda winked and wiggled her chubby fingers at them from the window.

-x-

"So that was really awkward," Annabeth giggled. Percy groaned as the pair got back on the bike.

"Just," he shuddered. "Don't."

She laughed as they pulled out of the lot.

Their cabin wasn't far from there. It was right on the beach, far from any other cabin. His father, who had been some big CEO type, bought it for his mother right before he went missing at sea. It was really the only thing he had left behind for him and his mom.

He tossed Annabeth the keys and the pair stumbled up the stairs in the dark. It took a second but she got the door open and the pair stumbled inside. Annabeth groped along the wall for a light switch. She finally found it and the lights slowly flickered on, having not been used in years.

The cabin had been recently cleaned, however, and the little portable heater had been turned on, thank God. He had called ahead of time to have them fix up the place. It was a one room cabin, with a queen sized bed taking up most the space. Against the wall was a kitchenette complete with a freshly stocked mini-fridge, a tiny stove, and a little sink. The walls had been painted different shades of blue, and the sheets matched. A little door led to a small bathroom, and the salty ocean air permeated any and everything. Percy slid off his leather biking gloves and jacket and tossed them onto the little table by the door.

He glanced up to see Annabeth bent over something in the corner.

He came up behind her, sliding his hands over her shoulders and down her arms. "What is it?" Annabeth leaned against him and picked up the little piece of paper she had been looking at. It was a musty piece of manila paper, covered in sparkly blue and green finger paint. You could nearly pick out three stick figures.

Percy felt a lump in his throat. He plucked the paper from her fingers and tossed it back onto the table. She made a noise of confusion and turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Did you make that?"

He sighed. "When I was little."

"Oh," she whispered. She shrugged off her sweater and slid out of his grip, tossing the cardigan with his jacket and continuing her examination of the room. "This is beautiful, Percy," she said, turning back to look at him with a sincere smile. "I love it."

He grinned at the praise like a child, feeling his cheeks warm up. Outside he could hear the rush of the waves and the sea beckoning him. He jumped at the impulse, grinning. "So, ready for a swim?"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Swim? It's freezing outside, not to mention dark. And there are, like, some serious life threats. Like… sharks. And you know. Hypothermia."

"Oh, come on," he teased. "You gonna let something as little as the _cold _hold you back from a swim in the ocean? And I've never heard of a shark in Montauk." He shrugged off his t-shirt, and she let out a little gasp. Her eyes lingered on his topless body, and the tattoos spiraling his biceps. He was suddenly glad that all the work he did on his motorcycle gave him somewhat impressive biceps. She gulped. "What's the matter, princess?"

He stepped closer to her, until he could feel Annabeth's warmth against his bare chest. She was irresistible. His heart was beating out of control. For some reason, here in this cabin so close to the ocean, he could feel his nervousness melting away. He reached out and ran a thumb along her jaw and down her neck and she shivered. "Scared of a little cold?"

"I…" she breathed softly, biting her lip. She was all levels of adorable and hot all at once. "I don't have a swimsuit."

He leaned his head forward until his lips were a centimeter from hers.

"Neither do I."

Then, grinning, he turned and sauntered out of the cabin, barely flinching when the chill hit him.

Annabeth, half-shocked, hesitated for a split second before following him, closing the door behind them. "You're crazy," she shouted at him, laughing.

"You love it when I'm crazy!" he called back, laughing with her, hardly believing what he was doing. He turned back to look at her, and saw that she was staring in disbelief at the crumpled ball of denim at her feet that were his jeans. The waves hit the shore and cold water squished inbetween his toes. "The water feels great!"

"You're crazy!" she yelled again, as he waded out until the water was up to his thighs. He glanced down, only half-caring that his boxers of choice were blue with little green cartoon fish on them.

"Come on!" he called out, spreading his arms to the sky. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you're too _perfect _to get wet…"

She scowled at him, and just when he started to think about how stupid this entire idea was, she was chucking off her boots, and the socks joined them a second later. He held his breath as she shimmied out of her jeans, trying not to have a heart attack when her t-shirt went over her head and into the sand. It was difficult to tell in the dark, but it looked like her underwear was matching. And uh. Kind of really hot. He rolled his eyes. Of course it was, it was _Annabeth_.

He was suddenly infinitely glad of the cold October water.

She splashed out to him, and when she was finally close enough, he could see her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shone with defiance.

"I'm not perfect," she whispered fiercely before jumping into his arms and kissing him.

-x-

_A/N: Happy thanksgiving! I'm giving you guys another update (one i kind of really like) in the spirit of the holidays. Things are heating up woooo! c;  
__Warning, the next chapter may contain not so clean stuff? Maybe? Tell me what you guys think in a review! Did you like it? Hate it? What do you want to happen in the next chapter? winkwinknudgenudge_

_ALSOOOOO_

_how're you spending your holidays?_

_My family spent the day recreating old photos (:_

_hope youre all doing really well__!_

_Love,_

_Anna x._


	6. Uhhhhh really sorry about that guys

_A/N: Quick note: this is a direct continuation of the last update, and it's uh, as promised, really not very clean. Like uhh, it's almost M rated? If you are uncomfortable with this please skip down to the "-x-". Don't worry about missing any important information or events in it, just know what happened. (: Enjoy! _

Percy gasped, stumbling backwards before hardly regaining his balance. The freezing ocean waves lapping around them faded from his mind as Annabeth pressed her wet body against his, her legs wrapped around his waist. He groaned as he felt her soft skin sliding against his chest, and he ran his hands along her thighs, her mouth warm and sweet as it moved against his.

He walked slowly towards the shore, the water almost parting before them as he held her to him with one hand, and slid his other thumb along the curve of her hip bone. Her hands were tangled in his hair, pulling not-so-gently with a slight gasp when he bit her lip. He was so wrapped up in her body he hardly noticed when they were finally on the beach, stumbling towards the cabin.

Annabeth pulled away for a second, gasping as she groped the door behind her for the door knob. The heat from inside enveloped their freezing bodies as the door swung open and they stumbled inside. Percy growled and slammed the door shut behind them as Annabeth's lips returned, her tongue flicking against the skin beneath his collarbone, scraping her teeth across the delicate skin laced with tattoos. He pulled her away, tossing her carefully onto the bed before crawling after her, but not before grabbing something from his jacket pocket.

The candles on the bedside table were still lit and Percy hovered a foot above her, propped up on all fours. She was watching him almost predatorily, silver-gray eyes liquidated in the shadowy contours of her angelic face, and _God, she was so hot_. He traced her parted lips, red and bitten from kissing, sliding his thumb over her flushed cheeks and over her jaw line before sliding behind her. She arched her back to oblige, and he unhooked her bra, lacy and pink, tossing it onto the table with a groan. Her neck was already purpled with bruises where he had grazed his teeth against her supple skin. She shuddered almost imperceptibly as he bent his head, warm breath ghosting over the goose bumps on the pale skin of her chest. "God, _Percy_-"

She filled the cabin with her moans (it was completely unfair how hot she was, it really wasn't, and oh God, he could barely think when she made these damn _noises_), and he moaned with her, his mouth against her skin, moving up towards her neck again. She took advantage of that moment to push his back against the bed beside her, flipping them so that she was on top. His heart raced as she straddled his hips, running her hands along his chest, tracing his tattoos lightly, teasingly with her light fingertips. The candlelight danced in her eyes, her lips curved up into a smirk as she bent down to press sweet kisses along his jaw, each kiss getting more intense as she moved down his neck and his chest, swiping her tongue against his hip bone. He moaned as she shimmied his boxers down, pulling down her (yep, matching) panties along with them.

Percy suddenly remembered, grabbing the foil wrapped condom from the bedside table. It took a few tries but he finally ripped it open.

"Is this okay?" he panted, his hand fisting in her hair.

She whispered her broken _yes_ against his skin, pressing sweet, fervent kisses against his neck. Their moans shattered against the walls of the cabin as he pressed into her. She was hot and wet and _god_, she felt as good as Fall Out Boy sounded.

She rolled her hips, her lips parted to let out her little moans and whimpers as she clenched her eyes shut, and Percy couldn't take his eyes off of her. His head fell against the headboard, his fingers digging into her thighs as she moved.

The bed moaned and creaked and moved with them, the headboard thumping against the wooden walls, and Percy swore the stars were painted on the back of his eyelids.

-x-

Annabeth was curled up beside him, her head resting on his chest. His heart was still racing, slowly calming back down to normal. He felt like his body had been turned into a galaxy, like his heart had turned to stardust, another ring of Annabeth's halo he wasn't sure he'd ever get back.

Sweat gleamed on his chest in the candlelight, and warmth formed a cocoon around him. Annabeth shifted, rolling onto her side. She had collapsed on his chest after, her breasts heaving in time with her gasps, and had fallen asleep soon after, murmuring sweet things in his ears.

Turning onto his side and pressing a kiss on her forehead, he fell asleep soon after, a smile on his lips.

-x-

Percy squeezed his eyes against the morning sun. Birds sang outside the wind, and he heard them flitting past each other, rustling the leaves of the branches they landed on. Just beyond that, the roar of the waves crashing on the shore beckoned him. Salt lingered in the sweat on his skin and the ocean in the air.

Annabeth mumbled something beside him, and burrowed her face into the pillow. Her golden hair was fanned out into a halo, and the morning sun illuminated the grace in her delicate features. Bruises purpled on her chest and neck, not tarnishing her skin but blooming like flowers he'd left. He reached out and stroked his thumb along the angle of her cheekbone, smiling when she leaned into his touch.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she smiled up at him.

"Morning," he said, absentmindedly smiling back.

She hummed happily, and reached out to pull him towards her. "What time is it?" she mumbled, tracing the lines of his muscles. He glanced around the room. On her side of the bed there was a clock, and he craned his neck to read it.

"Almost seven," he said back, surprised at the time. It was probably the first time he'd been awake before eight since Rachel dragged him to a Save the Trees sit-in a couple months back.

"How long can we stay?" she asked, reaching out with delicate fingertips to stroke the contours of his chest and abs.

"As long as you want," he said, and was glad to mean it.

"Perfect," she said, pushing Percy onto his back.

-x-

When they finally made their way out of the cabin, it was nearly midday. Their stomachs were filled with bacon and eggs Annabeth had fished out of the mini fridge. Thank God Mrs. Tilda had stocked it.

Percy went down to the beach to splash around in the waves and relish in the chilly refreshment of it, but Annabeth had taken the (probably saner) route of staying on the sand. She was sitting with her knees to her chest, drawing castles in the sand with a stick she had found in the nearby trees and laughing as Percy showed off in the waves, spurting up water from his mouth and doing handstands in the deeper waters.

The day wore on, the sun warmed the cold sand, and eventually Percy resurfaced, collapsing gracelessly onto the sand beside her, completely destroying her castle.

Annabeth gaped at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I do something?" he smirked, batting his eyes innocently just as she had last night.

"Oh, you suck!" she scowled, before dissolving into laughter, shoving him to the side.

He laughed too, tackling her back onto the sand, and pecking kisses on her face. She was so cute when she was laughing.

She shoved her hands against his chest and he pretended to be wounded, falling to the side.

They laid there for a second, and Percy reached out hesitantly to hold her hand.

It was weird to be shy doing something so innocent, especially after their night (and morning), but Percy couldn't help it. It was as if she was truly an angel, and Percy was afraid to corrupt her with his touch.

He slid his fingers into her palm, hardly daring to breathe until she entwined her fingers with his, smiling.

"So you own this place?" she asked.

"The cabin, yeah," he shrugged. "Or well, my mom owns it? It was my dad's but he's gone now, so."

She got quiet, and Percy closed his eyes against the warm sun and the cool breeze. "Gone?"

"Yeah," he said. "Went missing at sea when I was a kid. Rich enough to buy a cabin and a yacht to die on, but apparently not rich enough to leave anything behind for my mom and me." He forced his face to remain neutral, and took a deep breath. "Doesn't matter though. We did fine on our own."

Annabeth squeezed his fingers and kissed his cheek. She smiled sadly at him and Percy felt his heart melting a little more.

"Well now you've got me, too."

-x-

_A/N: ayooo. I'm so sad that break is ending ;-;_

_Ive literally just been churning out chapters this week, but uh, just a warning it probably won't be quick all the time. Especially because i'm going to be gone over the winter break for almost three weeks. Ahhhhh. Greece here I come! *-*_

_Give me your opinions in the reviews below, please! ^^_

_I was really nervous uploading this because that was the first time i wrote something of this nature._

_I don't know._

_#unexperiencedteenproblems_

_Anywho_

_Love,_

_Anna x._

_PS: This chapter was originally taken down because of a noticed plot error. It's back up for good now!_


	7. chapter 7

A/N: _ps: i know there were problems with the last chapter, because i uh, uploaded chapter six from another of my stories on accident, but i put up the actual chapter six now. If you haven't read the actual sixth chapter please do (unless you don't like un-clean, not too vague type of bedroom things, in which case it's okay if you skip it) _

_Also: i haven't written the next chapter and I might not for a while due to my crazy schedule and even crazier laziness. I will try and have it up by next week though :x_

They spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, cuddling and kissing and talking, and when Annabeth fell asleep in his arms, Percy spent the evening tracing the constellations in her freckles.

When Annabeth finally came too, shivering from the cold, Percy packed up the cabin, left his keys with a winking Mrs. Tilda, and drove the entire way home. The dim roar of his engine felt too loud, too destructive in the wide streets of her neighborhood, where the children playing in the street lights huddled in their nannies arms as he passed. It was as if he had shattered some peaceful bubble, where the kids' only major worry was which ivy league to chose, and they still clutched at their bags when anyone who didn't fit their cheery lives passed them on the streets. Anyone like him, he supposed. Percy scowled, burying his head in Annabeth's hair. He felt as he had the evening of their first date. Foreign, alien, unwanted.

He felt the eyes of suburban mothers through chiffon-curtained windows watching him as he slowed to a stop and cut the engine.

Annabeth stirred, mumbling something underneath her breath.

"Come on, Annabeth, you're home," he whispered softly, still feeling the sharp prick of not belonging. Part of him itched to race right back out of this place, bringing her back with him. But this is where Annabeth belonged. Really, truly belonged.

Annabeth rubbed her eyes and blinked up at him. Her eyes were still clouded with sleep, but she frowned, still sensing more than Percy did when he was fully functional. "What's wrong?"

Percy blushed, feeling suddenly stupid about being so insecure about everything. "Nothing, sweetheart," he said, looking away and standing up and swinging his leg off the motorcycle so that she could get up. She had been riding between him and the handlebars, so Percy could make sure she didn't fall off if she fell asleep (which she had, almost immediately).

Annabeth's lips curved into a sleepy smile.

"What?" he demanded, feeling his cheeks growing warmer.

"You've never called me sweetheart before," she breathed dreamily. Her curls were mussed and windblown and she was obviously still three quarters asleep, but still Percy's heart raced the same way it had when they first met. Before Percy could compute that he hadn't said anything back, she made a half-hearted attempt at getting off. Percy caught her before she could fall, slowly helping her to her feet. "Thanks," she murmured, before taking one step and nearly falling again.

"Whoops!" Percy caught her again, chuckling.

"Here you go," he said under his breath, scooping her up into his arms where she – wow, she dozed off again. How tired was she? Part of him was kind of proud of how little sleep they had gotten the night before. Whoops.

He knocked on the door, suddenly realizing he had no idea how to get Annabeth into her house.

The door opened though, by the same punkish, surly girl from before.

"Uh, hi," he said awkwardly.

The girl raised her eyebrows as she looked at the sleeping girl in his arms. It was kind of like a punk-angel sandwich, the part of Percy that once thought crabapples literally came from crabs thought.

The roommate girl jerked her head towards the inside of the house and started to walk back in. Not sure what other option there was besides just leaving Annabeth on the doorstep, Percy followed her in. The entrance hall was wallpapered in a flowery blue and pink vintage design he was almost 100% certain Annabeth had picked out. There were cute little pink flats and colorful rainboots next to scruffy combat boots against the wall on one side, and a coat rack with a gray cardigan and a leather jacket (similar to Percy's, though Percy's lacked sharp metal spikes on the shoulder pads) on the other.

"Are you going to stand there staring at my shit or are you coming?"

Percy glanced up, scowling, and saw her at the top of the stairs, scowling just as fiercely and crossing her arms.

Percy would've crossed his arms, had he not been carrying, you know. A human being.

A really cute one.

Whatever. It wasn't fair.

He followed after her though, again seeing no other option than just dumping Annabeth on the floor.

"Freak," the girl mumbled (fully knowing that Percy could hear her probably).

"Jerk," he snarked back (fully knowing that she could hear him definitely).

She scowled and opened the first door on the right, flipping the light switch. The room had bare, cream colored walls with a little pink dresser and a vanity on one wall, and a neatly kept sketching desk on the other with a half-drawn blue print on it. She didn't have any pictures except for an old one on the dresser of three kids. A Harvard sweater was draped across the back of her desk chair. Percy lowered her gently onto her bed, smoothing out her hair on the pillows. She mumbled something incoherent and turned onto her side. Percy hesitated, not quite knowing what else he was supposed to be doing.

"Take off her shoes, jackass," punk girl said from the doorway.

Glaring back at her, he did what she said, slowly unlacing her boots and pulling them off.

He started towards the door but the girl pointed back at her, frowning. "What about her blanket? You want her to freeze to death? My mom did a better job than you, and she was a raging alcoholic."

"Probably why you're such a dick, right?" he snapped back, kind of feeling bad afterwards. Thank god Annabeth was already asleep. He stopped feeling so bad when she snapped back, though.

"Jealous 'cause she needs a magnifying glass to see yours?"

Seriously, what was wrong with this chick.

He finished tucking her in and turned on his heel (before he did something the girl could really mess with him about like kiss Annabeth's forehead or something equally idiotic), fully intending on shoving past punk-girl-wonder over there and storming back out on his bike, but she snagged his jacket sleeve.

"Not so fast," she warned.

"What?" he snapped back at her. Why did Annabeth put up with her anyway?

"My names Thalia," she said, her voice softening.

Percy blinked at her in surprise. "Oh," he said. "Uh, I'm Percy."

"I know," she said, her eyebrows still drawn. She hesitated, glancing outside the window. "Look, it's late. Stay for a cup of coffee before you go back."

"You want me to _stay?_" Percy blurted.

She scowled at him. "Definitely not!" she snapped back, the tips of her ears growing pink. "I just think Annabeth would be mildly upset if you died because your stupid ass fell asleep at the wheel."She scowled. "Just – forget I offered."

"Wait," he stopped her, with a hand on her shoulder. He removed it quickly, feeling as if he had just poked a grizzly bear. "I'd love to stay for a cup."

She sighed and shook her head before heading back down the stairs. He followed her into the kitchen, glancing around at all the weird punk-girly fusion.

There was an over-stuffed pink tweed armchair and a black throw over it held together with messily stitched scraps of mismatching fabric and safety pins.

The kitchen looked to be mostly Annabeth's doing. The cabinets were bright, sunny yellow and all the pots and pans were similarly colorful. He felt like he was in a toy kitchen at Ikea. Thalia handed him a maroon Harvard mug that matched the sweater in Annabeth's room and jumped onto the counter, slouching as she sipped at her own cup. He leaned against the fridge, taking a long drag of it.

He felt the effects soon after, like a liquidated form of a slap in the face.

"Thanks for the CD, by the way," Thalia said after a second.

It took him a second to realize she was talking about the CD Annabeth came in to buy the day that they met. "Oh, yeah," he said. "No problem."

"So what was it? Buy a CD, get a boyfriend free?"

Percy choked on his coffee, coughing for a full minute before recovering. "We're uh," he said between coughs, spluttering. "I'm not…"

"Her boyfriend?" Thalia asked, looking rather unimpressed. "Then what are you? Just someone who whisks her off on his shitty bike for an entire weekend and brings her back wearing the same thing she left in? I'm not a kindergartener. Don't think I'm naïve enough to think you were what, just holding hands?"

Percy was pretty sure his face was on fire. Like actually on fire.

"Don't worry about it," Thalia sighed. She slid off the counter and dumped the rest of her coffee into the sink. "I'm sure Annabeth isn't thinking too hard about it either." She started walking to the door, as always assuming he was right behind her. He scowled.

What was that supposed to mean anyway, that she wasn't 'thinking too hard about it'? That she actually was, or that she didn't care about him enough to? Oh, god, he was overthinking this again, wasn't he? That wasn't very punk rock of him.

He gulped down the rest of the coffee and put the mug back near the sink before following her out.

"Don't hurt her," was Thalia's way of saying goodbye as he was walking out the door.

"I don't intend on it," he bit back, clenching his teeth.

"I'm serious," she said, snatching his arm as he walked past. Okay, _ow, _the girl had an iron glanced down at her hand. Black rings jingled on each of her pale, bony fingers. He tasted metal in his mouth as defiance rose inside him like a tidal wave. He fought the urge to shake her off. Her mouth was set in a grim line. "Because I know who you are."

He froze. He was so _sick _and _tired _of people thinking they knew him because of the clothes he wore or the way he wore his hair. His laugh was bitter and harsh. "Oh, do you now? Because we both wear black and you have a few rings in your ears? Is that it? Let me guess, we share a magical bond. Are unicorns going to fly out of my ass?"

"No," she whispered fiercely. Her eyes, he noticed, were electric blue. The sheer anger in them was enough to stop him from storming off. "Because we both love Annabeth, but neither of us deserves her. Because she's probably the one pure, good thing in either of our lives, but neither of us know what the fuck she sees in us. If you mess this up," she was almost nose to nose with him now and God, he couldn't even come up with any denial for loving Annabeth, because _there wasn't one, _and in that moment it was as if his stars had finally aligned_. _"If you dare screw this up and hurt her, I will end you." Her voice shook, and Percy knew she meant what she said.

"I know," he said softly. "Thalia, I know."

She said nothing, just stepped back and shook her head. She could have said anything, but Percy wouldn't have heard her. He didn't even remember climbing down the steps and starting his motorcycle. It was as if the polluted air was honey and he was trying to swim home, suspended in time. He nearly died when he swerved at the last second to avoid an obviously drunk driver on the wrong side of the road, but hardly any of that mattered to him. No, because the moment she walked into the music shop, he was hers.


	8. Chapter 8

It was probably the most boring day of work he had ever experienced. He didn't even have Annabeth to look forward to after he closed the shop, and Grover was going spending the weekend with Juniper upstate at some bed and breakfast that only served vegan food or something. Leo and Jason, who had lately been coming in almost every day after high school were absent that because of the homecoming game they were going to. The day before they had spent all afternoon talking about whether or not Jason should ask Piper, the girl he'd been crushing on, to the dance, and how Leo had asked every girl he saw all week ("Not _every _girl- just the hot ones").

So, what if he was relying on teenagers for entertainment? Pfft, who cared.

Okay. Maybe he _was _a little pathetic.

His fingers itched to text Annabeth but remembered she was preparing to present some big proposal to a company her firm was trying to design the building for on Sunday.

He was about to consider reorganizing the classic rock aisle for the eighth time that week when the bells on the door jingled.

"Hey, can I help you with – Beckendorf! Wow, hey!"

The large, leather-clad black guy chuckled and gave him a hearty slap on the back (that probably bruised some ribs). "Hey, kid," he said, smiling. The door jingled again and a pretty brunette walked in, looking like a model in a motorcycle calendar. Silena and Beckendorf had been seniors when Percy was a freshman and took him under their wing when they saw him getting pummeled by a couple junior varsity football jerks after he spat in the ring leader's face for harassing Grover. Beckendorf was a professional motorcycle racer, and Silena was well, a model, obviously.

"Hey Percy, sweetheart," she said warmly, kissing his cheek.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, Silena and I just got back from our tour," Beckendorf said, running his hand through his hair. "We sure missed the city, though."

"How was it though? The tour, I mean." Percy led them to the back where a couple of scruffy armchairs were.

"Well-"

"He won first place in nine out of the eleven races, and second in the other two." Silena said, pride in her voice. She reached over and punched Beckendorf in the arm. "Don't let him try to be all modest. He's magic with machines"

Beckendorf chuckled, shrugging. "Not as good as she makes me out to be, though. Anyway, what're you doing for Saturday?"

"What do you mean?"

They exchanged glances. "Halloween," Silena explained. "Don't tell me you're still too cool for it." In high school Percy refused to celebrate Halloween despite Rachel and Silena's protests, spending the night playing video games and ignoring the kids yelling and running throughout their apartment building.

Percy shrugged. "Well I'm not exactly going to go trick or treating, am I?"

"No," Beckendorf said. "You're going to do much, much better. You'll still need a costume though."

Great.

-x-

It turned out that what they had been referring to was a party Silena was throwing in celebration of their return to the city and Halloween, and Percy was hardpressed to say yes.

Grover and Rachel were invited of course, and Silena had given inviting Annabeth an extremely enthusiastic yes.

Annabeth herself was less so. "A costume party?" she said dubiously.

"Yeah, for some high school friends of mine."

"I don't really do costumes, Percy," she said, frowning.

"Neither do I," he assured her, quietly ignoring all the years he spent up to when he was ten dressing up as (blue, always blue) dinosaurs and otters and one time, a sailor. Up until age ten, his mother could've dressed him up in a bikini and he would've worn it. "But it's kind of important to my friends that I go, so…" he upped his puppy dog face game.

"Fine," she sighed. "But what're we going to dress up as?"

Oh.

Well he hadn't considered his actual costume yet. He wondered idly if his dinosaur costume would still fit. "Too bad it was a onesie…" he mused.

"What?" she shook her head, and Percy wondered if it was a bad thing she was already used to his little moments. "Nevermind. Percy this is so last minute." She frowned and started to get up, pacing around the living room. "I don't even know any of your friends! I met your roommate like, once, and that was only for a few moments before he, uh… whatever." _Went to go have sex in his room with his fellow hippie girlfriend, _Percy finished in his head.

"You're stressing way too hard about this, Annabeth." He stood up and took her hands in his own. Her stiff shoulders softened at his touch. "We'll come up with something."

-x-

That something turned out to be each other. Well, something like that. They had debated and argued ideas for an hour before Thalia walked into the kitchen and suggested it.

"It's irony, you know? You go as a snot-nosed punk, and he goes as a Harvard prep poser – I mean, student."

Percy had reluctantly put on an old over-sized Harvard sweater Annabeth had and borrowed khakis and a button-up shirt from Grover who wore them for job interviews before he got his jig at the organic place, and let Annabeth style his hair into what could only be called a dad-styled over-gelled disaster.

"Fit for suburbia," Thalia had teased, laughing at his ridiculous facial expressions.

Annabeth had been easier, seeing as Thalia and her were nearly the same size. Thalia lent Annabeth her studded leather jacket and combat boots, and tightly braided part of her hair back to make it look like she had an undercut. She was borrowing a long Ramones t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and the back cut to shreds, and a similarly cut up pair of black skinny jeans.

"Uh, wow," Percy had gaped when she opened the door the night of the party. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and grinned, pretending to strike a pose.

"What do you think?" she said, baring her teeth in what Percy assumed was supposed to be a threatening expression. Her grey eyes looked somehow darker as they flashed under her thick eyeliner.

"Fierce," he assured her solemnly, pressing a kiss on her lips. "Very rock and roll."

"I like your suspenders," she teased, snapping one with her finger as they walked down to the subway stop. "And who knew you'd be so cute with glasses?"

"We will never talk about this ever again."

-x-

They heard the party from down the block, seeing the apartment absolutely lit up on the relatively dull block.

Juniper and Grover (who went as characters from battle star… wars? Trek? Er, something), already a little tipsy, stumbled ahead of them.

The party spilled out into the lawn, and Percy saw an assortment of slutty cats, pumpkins, and what looked to be one guy dressed as lady version of Chewbacca. Lace bra and everything.

Hey, at least you could say he/she really committed. "Hey man!" Beckendorf called from the doorway.

"Nice costume," he said as Percy pushed up his glasses. "You must be Annabeth," he smiled at her. "What's your costume?"

Annabeth stuck up her pointer finger and pinkie in the iconic hand gesture of rock and roll. "I think I'm Percy?"

Beckendorf laughed, delighted, and Silena popped up at his shoulder. "Oh, hello everyone! Annabeth, it's so nice to meet you!"

A second later Silena had whirled a bewildered Annabeth off in a flurry of exclamations, ushering her into the apartment where the party raged inside, laughing. Annabeth threw back a startled look at Percy that may have seemed more of an SOS than a 'oh look at how much fun i'm having' kind of expression. He started after them, worrying, but Beckendorf stopped him. "Don't worry, Silena knows what she's doing," Beckendorf assured the slightly alarmed Percy. "Let's get you something to drink - I've got someone you have to meet."

-x-

Percy didn't know if he was standing or lying down. Also there was something in his stomach trying really hard to get out and it might have had to do with the empty tequila bottle he's using as a pillow.

Also, there's an earthquake.

Or someone's shaking his arm.

Probably the former, he thinks, until he opens his eyes and sees a pair of angry angels staring back at him. He wonders if all angels look the same, or if these angels are just twins, and then he wonders if angels can have twins at all considering they're not so much born as created, and then Percy thinks that he has a headache and he should probably stop thinking. But then the angels are moving him, and he really doesn't like that.

"Please no," he cries softly. "I don't wanna go."

The angel makes a soft sound that might be angry or might be sad and he doesn't know which one just yet, but he doesn't like it. "No, angel," he murmurs into her hair, grabbing onto the front of it's shirt.

She freezes and then sighs again, sagging against him, before trying to pick him up again. Then he's on his feet, but the Earth keeps moving and stealing the ground from underneath him, and he thinks for the second time that he really misses the floor. The angel pries the empty tequila bottle from where he's clutching it in his arms, and he's not even sure if he remembers holding it.

"Percy, we're going home," the angel says, and Percy sees her again, and only her. The other angels are gone, but she is so beautiful.

"So..." he whispers, alcohol souring on his breath.

"What?"

He opens his mouth to tell her that she is the most beautiful angel he has ever seen, but suddenly there's a taste in his mouth and then he's sick. He can't help it - he just feels the contents of his stomach in his throat and then he's tasting the alcohol again, rank with stomach acid.

"Oh God, Percy." The angel cries, almost letting go of him as she stumbles backwards.

"Beautiful," he slurs, and then passes out.

-x-

Percy couldn't think. Or move.

Everything hurt so much, and _fuck, _it was so _bright._

He moaned, and buried his face in his pillow, but even moving his neck sets off a riot of fireworks in his head. He asked the devil if he would consider trading Percy's soul for closing the curtains. He gets no reply.

He could feel movement next to him, and then something warm touched his forehead, and water was trickling into his mouth.

He gulped it down greedily until there was no more, and he heard the sound of a glass settling down on a table.

"Annabeth," he croaked, struggling to sit up right. He rubbed his eyes, and squinted into the light. "What time is it?"

"Almost one," she answered, and there's none of the softness he's accustomed to.

"Almost one – oh, shit, Annabeth – your meeting." He remembered that she had an important meeting at noon for some big company whose project they were bidding on the same time he remembered that he was kind of the worst boyfriend in the world. "I'm so sorry, Annabeth, _fuck_."

She turned away from him so he couldn't see her face. "I still went," she cut him off. "We got the project."

"Oh," Percy said, blinking. "Congrats, Annabeth – "

"I'm not going to stop doing my job because my boyfriend has a hangover he got by drinking himself sick."

Percy was quiet for a second, feeling horrible in basically every aspect. "Annabeth," he said quietly, not quite understanding the hardness in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" she bit back incredulously. She made a noise of contempt and leaned against her doorway. "Percy, how much of last night do you remember?"

His mouth is dry and his head hurts too much for this conversation. "I -"

"Because I remember you ditching me the second we got there to have drinks with your old buddies. And I remember stumbling over drunkards I didn't know looking for you, and finally finding you drenched in beer – in _my father's sweater_ – only to have you tell me to calm down and stick around for another hour. So I did. And then you told me just another hour. And just another hour. And then I happen to remember dragging your passed out ass down un-lit street after un-lit street at three in the morning with _puke _on my clothes. It's a miracle I got both of us here."

He wracked his memory for this, only got a few hazy drunken moments, and felt infinitely worse. "I'm so sorry," he said hoarsely, not knowing what to say to make this better – if indeed there was anything at all. "I shouldn't have done that. I am so, so sorry. I'm the biggest asshole in the universe, babe, and you deserve better. Please…"

He trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut. Annabeth softened slightly and then shook her head and looked out the window. She was every bit as angelic as he remembered, but she looked so worn. And more tired than he'd ever seen her, and it hurt when he realized it was his doing. He sighed. He wished her well-being wasn't in his hands, though he was definitely in hers.

"Forgive me. Please. I'll make it up to you," he promised, standing up and taking her hands in his. "I'll take you to that art gallery you've been begging me to go to. I'll clean up. I'll do better."

Annbeth sighed, and Percy grinned, taking it as a concession. He kissed her cheek.

"Fine, but you're taking me out to dinner too."

She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's a deal."

_A/N: :c Percabeth feels._

_FINALS WEEEEEEKKKKK_

_*violently throws papers off my desk*_

_*cries for an hour*_

_*sirens*_


End file.
